a rich past… a smart and sustainable future · ahmed khalil is with kuwait oil company, kuwait...
TRANSCRIPT
Abstract—The world’s energy requirements are expected to
double in the next 50 years; a fact, which places energy use and
conservation at the heart of the world sustainability challenge.
This paper presents an overview of the an approach considered
to meet this global sustainability challenge by the
Redevelopment of Ahmadi Township spread over
approximately 5.0 sqkm area, an existing Oil Town in Kuwait
developed by the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) in 1940s.
Since, the existing Ahmadi Township holds an important
place in Kuwaiti society for its history, unique architecture, and
green setting in light of the arid desert climate in the region, the
approach considered taking the rich heritage further by
becoming the flagbearer for a sustainable and smart growth in
the region. Fundamental to this approach was redeveloping
Ahmadi into a modern oil town, while taking into consideration,
and retaining the rich, historical heritage of Ahmadi and
Kuwait and include smart sustainable principles that connects
the Township occupants and enhances the functioning of all the
other services infrastructure across the township.
One of the goals is to redevelop the existing township within
10 years. During this period, all the existing facilities to have
operations running at all times. The new Ahmadi Township
seeks to preserve the rich past while incorporating the latest best
practices integrating the sustainable practices and Smart City
principles for Utilities, Waste Management, Building/Home
Automation, and Infrastructure.
This paper illustrates various aspects such as the local context,
history, vision and objectives, issues and challenges faced,
approaches explored and considered, as well as Company’s
commitment to the pillars of sustainability of environmental
stewardship, community enhancement and the energy and water
savings. The approach illustrates an enhanced corporate social
responsibility in the region and uplifting the housing integrity in
the surrounding context.
Index Terms—Sustainable, smart, environmentally friendly,
energy saving, water saving.
I. INTRODUCTION
Today, more than 3.9 billion people (~54% of the world‟s
population) live in cities, a number that is projected to rise to
more than 6 billion by the year 2050 [1]. These urban
environments - which only account for 2% of the planet‟s land
mass – are responsible for almost 80% of the world‟s energy
consumption and approximately equal share of its carbon
emissions. [2]
The problems created by such dramatic urbanization place
an increased emphasis on making the cities and neighborhood
developments more resource-efficient and environmentally
friendly.
In response to this approach and in line with the directives
Manuscript received August 12, 2017; revised November 13, 2017.
Ahmed Khalil is with Kuwait Oil Company, Kuwait (e-mail:
of His Highness Amir of State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al
Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, as well as the Company‟s
commitment to support the Kuwait‟s 2030 Vision to reduce
energy and water usage per capita and increase the energy
supply from renewables to 15%. The redevelopment program
is aimed at setting a positive precedent for sustainable urban
development in the region.
The main objective is to re-structure the town-plan to
transform the existing town it into a more effective modern oil
town including all amenities necessary for its effective
functioning using sustainable smart principles.
International consultants (i.e. M/s Atkins along with Gulf
Consult and Ernst & Young) conducted comprehensive
feasibility studies led by the KOC Ahmadi Township
Redevelopment (ATR) Steering Committee to derive efficient
project strategies for successful execution of the project.
Furthermore, one of the prime reasons for the Rebuilding
Ahmadi Township development program was addressing the
issue of high and the escalating maintenance and operation
cost of the dilapidating houses of the existing township in
addition to, providing better housing facilities and
environment for the employees.
II. BACKGROUND REVIEW
A. Local Context
Ahmadi Township is located 40 km southeast of the Kuwait
City center and occupied an area of approximately 5.12 sqkm.
Located in Kuwait it has an arid desert climate, huge
temperature difference between winter and summer months
and some marginal rain for a brief period each year. Kuwait
experiences soaring temperatures in summers with average
summer temperatures ranging from 42-48°C. The highest
ever temperature recorded in Kuwait was 54°C in July 2016,
which is the highest recorded temperature in Asia and the
third highest in the world.
B. Historical Context
Ahmadi is one of the most important suburbs of Kuwait
City and has been crucial towards the development of the
State of Kuwait.
Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) was established in 1934
through a joint venture between British Petroleum and Gulf
Oil to manage oil production in Kuwait. In 1938, one of the
world‟s largest oil fields was discovered at Burgan, in the
southeastern desert. In order to support the oil production in
the Burgan field, the township of Ahmadi was developed in
1946 and it became the Headquarters for the Kuwait Oil
Company (KOC) (see Fig. 1 and Fig. 2).
The following are the salient features of the Ahmadi
Township, which provides a rich heritage to be preserved in
… A Rich Past… A Smart and Sustainable Future
Ahmed Khalil
International Journal of Engineering and Technology, Vol. 10, No. 3, June 2018
243DOI: 10.7763/IJET.2018.V10.1067
future.
1) Strategic location in the Greater Burgan Oil Field area
with proximity to the Ahmadi Port to facilitate the
exploration and export operations.
2) The existing master plan illustrates a western layout,
unique as compared to the rest of the settlements in
Kuwait, to cater to the need of the British and American
expatriate population in the 1940s.
3) It is famous for its vibrant green surroundings, beautiful
parks and is one of the greenest settlements in Kuwait;
which is a rarity in the given arid desert context.
4) Environmentally friendly and climate responsive design.
5) Served as a positive precedent in the region in the past.
Fig. 1. Ahmadi Township in 1960s.
Fig. 2. Existing Ahmadi Township.
III. METHODOLOGY
A. Vision and Objectives for a Smart & Sustainable Future
In 2014, with KOC deciding to redevelop Ahmadi
Township‟s future on the foundation of its rich historic past, a
green building committee was formed by the Company to
look into achieving the said goals for the residential &
industrial sectors and formulate strategies and benchmark
against global best practices.
An in-depth analysis on the current issues and challenges
faced in the region and the State of Kuwait was carried out to
form an accurate basis for formulating the goals and
objectives for the redevelopment program.
An integrated approach was adopted involving several
sessions with various stakeholders of the Company and
consultants in order to derive goals/objectives for the
proposed redevelopment program in order to fulfill the
Company‟s vision:
“To transform Ahmadi into an oil town which reflects a
modern oil industry image while taking into consideration and
retaining the historical and cultural heritage of Ahmadi and its
contribution to the oil industry of Kuwait.”
The following objectives were outlined for the
redevelopment of the existing Ahmadi town:
1) Redevelopment Stewardship:
Company‟s aspirations to be an employer of choice by
providing quality service to the employees in the form of a
modern, safe, secured and healthy living environment.
2) Preserve Historic Heritage:
As it has been over 60 years since the inception of the
township, the intent is to preserve and further enhance the
outlook of the township by effectively modernizing it, being
in line with the other modern cities of the world and to set a
positive precedent in the region for sustainable and inclusive
growth.
3) Social Commitment:
To illustrate Company‟s social commitment not just
towards its employees by uplifting the housing integrity, but
extending beyond and contributing to the communities
beyond its premises and Kuwait city.
4) Support Kuwait‟s 2030 Vision:
To reduce energy and water usage per capita and increase
the energy supply from renewables to 15%.
IV. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
A. Issues and Challenges
Kuwait has witnessed a steady increase in the power
demands over the past decades in line with its economical and
industrial growth (see Fig. 3 and Fig. 4).
Fig. 3. Kuwait‟s power demand [3].
Fig. 4. Kuwait‟s electricity per capita [3].
International Journal of Engineering and Technology, Vol. 10, No. 3, June 2018
244
Kuwait‟s electricity consumption per capita has exceeded
18,000 kwh, and is one of the highest in the world. Electricity
demand has been growing at an impressive rate estimated at
an annual rate of 5.3% between 1999 and 2009 (de Boncourt,
2012).
For analyzing the extent of the energy savings to be
targeted for the given project, statistical data including
breakdown of the current average energy consumption in a
Kuwait household was also derived from the research.
Based on the annual energy savings achieved per house in
Ahmadi in kWh and the cost incurred per house, Return of
Investment (ROI) period of 6.8 years was calculated.
An important factor in evaluating the target/ goals for the
energy savings is the energy tariff applicable in Kuwait. The
strong unbridled demands for water and electricity are only in
part a consequence of inevitable factors such artificially low
consumer prices set by the State of Kuwait.
The Kuwaiti government provides these basic utilities at a
very low cost. Historically, the price of electricity had some
links with the cost of production, but this link has been broken,
and rather than raising electricity prices, the government has
reduced them over time. These low prices, has resulted in a
wide gap between production costs and electricity rates.
Another issue to be considered and addressed was that of
the water security and water consumption in Kuwait and the
projected water scarcity in the region by 2025.
Recent studies predict that global demand for water is
going to be around 40 percent higher in 2030 than it is today,
with population growth usually being the biggest cause of an
increased demand. If the growth rate continues at the current
level, approximately 60 per cent of the world‟s population
will suffer severe water shortages by 2025. The situation is
only going to get worse for Kuwait with the lowest water
security as shown in Table I:
TABLE I: THE AVAILABILITY OF WATER IN WORLD‟S DRIEST PLACES IN
2035 [4]
Country
2010
population
(million)
Projected 2035
population
(million)
Per capita
water supply
(m3/person/year)
UAE 7.512 11.042 13.6
Qatar 1.759 2.451 21.6
Saudi
Arabia
27.448 40.444 59.3
Bahrain 1.262 1.711 67.8
Yemen 24.053 46.196 88.8
Kuwait 2.737 4.328 4.6
Fig. 5. Water-stressed countries in 2040 [5].
The research highlighted that these current trends in energy
and water consumption needs to be reversed and addressed
effectively in the given project in order to set a positive
precedent in the region (see Fig. 5).
B. Project Strategies
An initial study was carried out, to check the relevance of
the various development strategies for the three project
related parameters namely, Finance, Logistics and Design
outlined as follows:
For the financial aspect, three approaches were considered
for the study namely,
Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT)
Private Sector Partnership (PSP)
Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
The BOT and PSP approaches were excluded owing to the
logistical and legal concerns highlighted during the study, and
the Company decided to redevelop the township on its own
following the Do-it-yourself (DIY) approach.
Owing to the logistical requirements for keeping the
existing township and facilities operational at all times, a
phased development strategy was adopted which included
development of the vacant parcels of the land initially in order
to enable the subsequent evacuation and shifting of the
occupants of the existing units for redeveloping the existing
developed areas of the township.
For the design aspect, the strategy included the study of the
relationships and design components of the development
models of various modern cities such as the Eco City, Green
City, Sustainable City and Smart City/Digital City etc. This
allowed the Company to choose the most comprehensive
option with respect to the site context, concurrence with the
Company‟s objectives, cost implications and its benefits.
Assessment of existing infrastructure services was also
carried out to determine the existing condition and derive the
existing components in the township that could be retained,
enhanced or integrated with the proposed design resulting in
optimized utilization of resources.
A comprehensive design approach was adopted using
Sustainable & Green design principles with the Smart
Technology (ICT) as an enabler to achieve a more
comprehensive sustainable development that is more relatable,
simpler, better, faster and smarter (see Fig. 6).
Fig. 6. Sustainable & green design and smart (ICT) infrastructure.
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245
This required that the strategy was applied at macro level
(in master plan & urban design) as well as micro level (in
detailed design of houses and various facilities) of the
township.
C. Design Considerations & Mitigation Measures
At Macro level, the sustainable design approach in urban
planning involved ascertaining the urban hubs and destination
points in the existing Ahmadi Township and creating new
nodes/hubs to ensure a good equal dispersion of retail,
recreational, leisure, worship facilities across Ahmadi,
thereby, easing or dispersing the traffic movement across the
town. This also ensures easy accessibility for the residents
across the town.
The uniqueness of Ahmadi town of being „Green‟ is further
enhanced by connecting the community nodes across the
township through „Green boulevards‟ forming a
well-connected green network of pedestrian walkways and
bicycle lanes across Ahmadi while integration the existing
green spaces to increase its effectiveness. It also included
provision of alternate mode of transport like bicycle lanes,
bicycle pools etc. This also helped in enhancing the social
environment; add vibrancy to the internal streets of the
township while ensuring safety for the pedestrians and
bicycles by including limited interaction with main vehicular
traffic network.
Furthermore, the existing designated public open spaces
and recreational areas were enhanced with the introduction of
new functions and activities to meet the particular needs of
Ahmadi residents. Improvements were also designed in terms
of legibility, accessibility and connectivity. Improved levels
of planting local plant species further resulted in the creation
of new habitats and enhanced biodiversity.
Interventions such as widening of the existing pedestrian
paths and defined site edges as well as the strategy for the
formal arrangement of the hardscape and low maintenance
softscape are introduced to create an elegant environment,
while being easier to maintain.
The proposed master plan also optimizes the design
interventions at macro level by retaining all the main streets &
avenues of the existing urban fabric and restricting it to few
minor enhancements to some roads and junctions required in
order to cater to the future traffic for next 50 years based on
traffic studies carried out for the township.
Sustainable design approach at building level included the
following design considerations:
1) Provision of Renewable Energy Source- Solar PV cells for
all houses and facilities in to achieve 15% of the energy
demand without affecting the visual outlook from the
streets and without altering the character of houses.
2) Provision of solar car parking ports for achieving 15% of
energy demand for office building and other facilities in
the township.
3) Provision of front and rear gardens for the houses, green
shoulders along the streets and shaded streets and
walkways to help reduce the effect of the heat island
effect.
4) Design of the houses and buildings layouts, size and
fenestrations of windows etc. optimize the use of natural
daylight to reduce the energy consumption in the lighting
and cooling loads without any added cost.
5) Provision of insulated external walls with lightweight
thermal blocks, 400mm thick with sand lime bricks
cladding and higher U values to reduced cooling loads
inside the houses and facilities.
6) Existing local sand lime bricks cladding used to retain the
character of the existing Ahmadi town.
7) Design details to reduce thermal bridging and achieve air
tightness to reduce energy losses in the building.
8) Use of water saving syphons and toilet fixtures to achieve
70% water saving.
9) Use of low maintenance landscaping and local trees and
shrubs species reducing the irrigation water demand for
the landscaped areas and using brackish water for
irrigation to further reduce the use of potable water.
10) Use of locally sourced and manufactured building
materials preferred and specified.
The following Smart Integrations were also considered in
line with other Sustainable design strategies to optimize the
benefits:
1) Optimize and upgrade the Main services infrastructure
networks by including smart controls, meters etc. and GIS.
2) Provision of Home Automation system for houses (see Fig.
7).
Fig. 7. Provision of home automation system for houses.
3) Provision of Smart services such as Energy management
system, environmental monitoring system, KOC
communication platform for community, Outdoor signage
system, security system, street lighting remote control
system and waste management (see Fig. 8).
International Journal of Engineering and Technology, Vol. 10, No. 3, June 2018
246
Fig. 8. Provision of smart services.
4) Provision of a centralized command and control center to
control and monitor the operations of the overall town (see
Fig. 9).
Fig. 9. Provision of a centralized command and control center to control and
monitor the operations of the overall town.
V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The factors driving the feasibility of this sustainable &
smart approach are as outlined below (see Fig. 10).
Energy savings estimated at 36.5% energy savings.
Up-front estimated cost premium (as compared to
conventional system) – 9.98%
Return on Investment- less than 7 years. (Based on
highly subsidized energy tariffs in Kuwait)
Water conservation: 20% reduction of water
consumption.
Reduction in operation and maintenance cost.
Enhanced Building transparency and visibility
controlled by the Company through auditing, reporting
and diagnostics.
Fig. 10. Comparison of Energy Consumption with other Residential
buildings in Kuwait [6].
This not only caters to the future trends but also supports
the Company to achieve its goals through the following:
1) Enriched Livability:
Comfortable, clean, engaged, healthy and safe lifestyle.
Diverse recreational and cultural options available.
More reliable services provided to the occupants.
Improve the quality of the urban management and create
new modern values in life.
Improve employees‟ quality of life by improving the
efficiency of the services.
2) Better Health & Safety:
Vigilance and security aspects enhanced.
Safer neighborhood and community.
Faster emergency response system.
3) Increased Sustainability:
Planning for future while catering to the present needs of
the Company employees and occupants.
Efficient use of natural, human and economic resources
also promoting cost saving.
4) Improved Employee Workability:
Enhanced working environment and increased employee
retention.
Easy Access to Company & Community services.
5) Improved O&M efficiency:
Making services available to employees, company and
authorities with reduction of the energy costs and
operation/maintenance costs of the Company.
Reduced energy and water consumption.
Getting the Infrastructure do more and last longer for
less.
Thus, the Ahmadi Township redevelopment program
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247
exemplifies Company‟s aspirations to set a positive precedent
in the region and contribute towards meeting the global
sustainability challenges, by addressing the three pillars of
sustainability (see Fig 11).
Fig. 11. The Ahmadi Township redevelopment program.
REFERENCES
[1] Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, World
Urbanization Prospects- 2014 revision.
[2] The World Bank, Cities& Climate Change- An Urgent Agenda,
December 2010. Vol 10.
[3] A.-M. Ahmad, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Towards
Sustainable Energy for the State of Kuwait: Challenges and
Opportunities, October 2017.
[4] A.-F. Taha, Al- Jazeera Centre for Studies: Water Security in the Gulf
Region, March 2015.
[5] A. Maddocks, Robert Samuel Young and Paul Reig, World Resources
Institute, Ranking the World‟s Most Water-Stressed Countries in 2040,
August 2015.
[6] M. Krarti, Analysis of Economical and Environmental Benefits of
Promoting Energy Efficiency - Case study Kuwait, Promoting Energy
Efficiency Investments for Climate Change Mitigation and
Sustainable Development United Nations Development Account
Project, p. 17, 2014.
Ahmed Khalil is a TPL Specialist working for
Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) for the past 22 years
and has extensive experience in the managing
multi-million dollar projects with outstanding track
record during his 30 years career in the construction
industry in the Middle East Region. He holds a
master‟s degree from Ain Shams University of
Egypt and has presented at many conferences in the
Middle East region and written papers for the
external and Company publications. His
contributions include participation in the Company‟s various committees,
Task forces for special projects and sensitive assignments such as the
Ahmadi Gas project Task Force that successfully mitigated the gas
emissions in the township of Ahmadi, Rebuilding Ahmadi Township
Steering Committee and Technical Task Force; and many other
investigation committees including the Directorate representative for the
State Audit Bureau. He also has major contributions in developing and
enhancing the quality and standard procedures, such as the Quality
Management System Manual, Business Operating Procedures for the
Company as well as enhancing the Company Standards.
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248